From Publishers Weekly
Given the formidable talents of the writers involved, this first adventure of a club of professional thrillseekers is a surprisingly unfulfilling affair. The six male members of the Daredevils Club meet every New Year's Eve to swap stories about the past year's missions impossible. In 1999, oil magnate Frik Van Alman sows the seeds for the following year's bragfest when he asks his fellow Daredevils to help him recover pieces of an unearthly artifact he discovered while drilling in an undersea cavern. Never mind that the devious Frik doesn't tell them the artifact can harness energy magically, or that its parts were deliberately disassembled and dispersed to different people by one of his employees (whose death Frik hastened) to keep it out of his unscrupulous hands. The Daredevils are off and running, and the scavenger hunt that follows is as disjointed as the artifact itself, split over subplots involving an ecoterrorist group's efforts to destroy Frik's oil business and the growing suspicion of Dr. Peta Whyte, lover of a deceased Daredevil, that Frik will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Explosions, death-defying feats and Houdini-like disappearances and reappearances keep things lively. But there are also enough convenient coincidences and key mysteries left unexplained to raise doubts about how closely the authors collaborated on the plotting.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Deep in a tomblike cavern along the ocean floor lies a secret that has remained hidden from humanity. Until now. . .
An Oilstar drilling rig off the coast of Venezuela in the Dragon's Mouth channel has pierced an underwater cavern and brings to the surface four stones unlike anything on this earth. Frik Van Alman, the tough-as-nails maverick head of Oilstar realizes immediately that they represent an extraordinary opportunity . . .and a terrible danger. His superstitious native crew, already uneasy working in the infamous waterway, refuse to dive in search of a fifth stone, and when Frik's lab chief tests them, the results confirm Frik's hunch: when these four stones are connected they hint at a power source that could revolutionize the world's energy production. And, Frik realizes, such a revolution would put him and all other oil companies out of business.
Before he can plot his next move, his lab chief Paul Trujold, fearing the greed and calculation in Frik's eyes, sends the stones to safer hands. One of the stones lands in the hands of Paul's daughter, Selene Trujold, the leader of an ecological action trying to halt Frik's drilling and the damage it's causing to the Caribbean ecology.
Frik and Trujold meet in the lab after Paul has sent away the stones, and an accident badly burns them both, killing Paul before Frik can find out what he's done with the find. Desperate to reclaim the stones and determined to find the fifth piece of the puzzle, Frik enlists the aid of the Daredevils Club, a select few risk-taking thrill seekers of whom Frik is one, who meet every New Year's Eve to compare bold new stories of the past year's exploits. Their members are a disparate bunch, including a doctor, Arthur Marryshow, whose greatest risk is healing those who risk their lives in political hotspots; Ray Arno, a stuntman turned demolitions expert; Simon Brousseau, an expert deep-sea diver; and Joshua Keene and Terris McKendry, a bickering best-buddies tandem experienced in undercover operations requiring strength, expertise with weapons, and nerves of steel.
At the next New Year's Eve meeting, Frik proposes a mission: collect all five stones and return them to him. Along with the rest of the daredevils is Peta Whyte, Marryshow's protegé, not officially a member, but more than qualified by her role in planning and effecting Arthur's escape from prison on her native Grenada sixteen years before, when she was but sixteen. She attends in Arthur's place, for he's been killed, victim of a terrorist bombing just blocks from their Times Square rendezvous.
The Daredevils embark on an adventure that takes them along the coast of Venezuela, from stealth jungle raids to deep-sea dives, from the haunts of Latin American power brokers to the camp of eco-terrorists. A fast-paced, thrill-a-minute hunt challenges the loyalties of the daredevils, as they become pawns in a deadly game of deceit and betrayal. After all the adrenaline rushes and spilt blood, the remaining members of the Daredevils Club gather once again on the following New Year's Eve, this time in Las Vegas, for one final confrontation, as Frik slips the five stones into place. . . as the unthinkable is created.
Download Description
A mysterious artifact, discovered deep in an ocean cavern, holds with it an awesome power that could change the world as we know it. However, the artifact is comprised of five interlocking stones, spread out along the Venezuelan coast. A team of freelance adventurers who thrive on danger and big odds, vow to track down the missing pieces, in what soon becomes a deadly game of deceit and betrayal.
From the Back Cover
A Force like No Other
Paul rotated the assembly back, felt the chill again, and then the bulb flared, sixty watts climbing to one hundred. All the lamps in the room seemed to have doubled their wattage. The overhead fan whined and jittered, sounding as if it was about to take off.
He heard Frik gasp. "What the hell?"
"Check out the Bunsens," Paul said, keeping his eye on the telltale piece.
"They're almost out."
Paul lowered the assembly, and the light dimmed, the Bunsen flames grew.
Frik stared at it. "That's doing it?"
Paul nodded.
"Free energy?" Frik said, still pale. "No such thing as free energy. No such thing as free anything."
"And there's one more thing you should know."
Frik looked at him bleakly. "I don't know if I can handle another revelation right now. But go ahead."
Paul held up the assembly. "I don't think this is all of it. It looks like there's a piece missing."
About the Author
Kevin J. Anderson has written twenty-six national bestsellers and has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Readers' Choice Award. He lives in Monument, Colorado.
Janet Berliner, author of many novels, including the Bram Stoker Award-winning Children of the Dusk (with George Guthridge), lives in Las Vegas. She has also edited many anthologies, including Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn.
F. Paul Wilson has written more than twenty novels, including the bestseller The Keep, and the Repairman Jack novels and is the winner of two Prometheus Awards for best libertarian fiction. He lives in Wall, New Jersey.
Matthew J. Costello lives north of New York City and has teamed up with Wilson on previous novels.
Artifact FROM THE PUBLISHER
"An Oilstar drilling rig off the coast of Venezuela in the Dragon's Mouth channel pierces an underwater cavern and brings to the surface four stones unlike anything on this earth. Frik Van Alman, the tough-as-nails maverick head of Oilstar, realizes immediately that they represent an extraordinary opportunity... and a terrible danger. His superstitious native crew, already uneasy working in the infamous waterway, refuse to dive in search of a fifth stone, and when Frik's lab chief tests them, the results confirm Frik's hunch: when these four stones are connected they hint at a power source that could revolutionize the world's energy production. And, Frik realizes, such a revolution would put him and all other oil companies out of business." "Before he can plot his next move, his lab chief Paul Trujold, fearing the greed and calculation in Frik's eyes, sends the stones to safer hands. One of the stones lands in the possession of Paul's daughter, Selene Trujold, the leader of an ecological action trying to halt Frik's drilling and the damage it's causing to the Caribbean ecology." "Frik and Trujold meet in the lab after Paul has sent away the stones, and an accident badly burns them both, killing Paul before Frik can discover what he's done with the find. Desperate to reclaim the stones and determined to find the fifth piece of the puzzle, Frik enlists the aid of the Daredevils Club, a select few risk-taking seekers of whom Frik is one, who meet every New Year's Eve to compare bold new stories of the past year's exploits. Their members are a disparate bunch, including a doctor, Arthur Marryshow, whose greatest risk is healing those who risk their lives in political hotspots; Ray Arno, a stuntsman-turned-demolitions expert; Simon Brousseau, an expert deep-sea diver; and Joshua Keene and Terris McKendry, a bickering best-buddies tandem experienced in undercover operations requiring strength, expertise with weapons, and nerves of steel." "At the next New Year's Eve
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Given the formidable talents of the writers involved, this first adventure of a club of professional thrillseekers is a surprisingly unfulfilling affair. The six male members of the Daredevils Club meet every New Year's Eve to swap stories about the past year's missions impossible. In 1999, oil magnate Frik Van Alman sows the seeds for the following year's bragfest when he asks his fellow Daredevils to help him recover pieces of an unearthly artifact he discovered while drilling in an undersea cavern. Never mind that the devious Frik doesn't tell them the artifact can harness energy magically, or that its parts were deliberately disassembled and dispersed to different people by one of his employees (whose death Frik hastened) to keep it out of his unscrupulous hands. The Daredevils are off and running, and the scavenger hunt that follows is as disjointed as the artifact itself, split over subplots involving an ecoterrorist group's efforts to destroy Frik's oil business and the growing suspicion of Dr. Peta Whyte, lover of a deceased Daredevil, that Frik will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Explosions, death-defying feats and Houdini-like disappearances and reappearances keep things lively. But there are also enough convenient coincidences and key mysteries left unexplained to raise doubts about how closely the authors collaborated on the plotting. (June 9) Forecast: Four major writers almost mandates that each writer's audience will give this book a try, but poor word of mouth could undercut the prospects for any planned sequel. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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